Pankaj Tiwari - The Harvest of Broken Promises

How do we remember the land once it stops feeding us? Can theatre capture the smell of soil, the ache of labour, or the true weight of a harvest? 

At the heart of The Harvest of Broken Promises is a simple yet urgent image: a piece of land that no longer remembers how to sustain itself. Born into a farming family, theatre-maker Pankaj Tiwari revisits his memories of the traditional, sustainable agricultural practices of his youth, and reflects on their gradual disappearance over the past three decades. Since moving to Europe in 2019, Tiwari has observed local farming practices first-hand. Despite being on a different continent, he sees similar struggles, albeit marked by a distinct gap in time. 

In The Harvest of Broken Promises, Tiwari interweaves video footage, interviews, visual art, and folk tales. By blending his own history with the stories of farmers from across India and Europe, his play captures the profound tension between aspiration and survival. Tiwari’s narrative serves as a mirror for a generation caught between the glittering promises of progress, and the steady loss of ancestral knowledge.